Rail anchor



April 17, 1934. L, VAUGHAN I 1,955,263

RAIL- ANCHOR Filed May 4, 1933 ,Daaz'cZL. an

Patented Apr. 17, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAIL ANCHOR Application May 4, 1933, Serial No. 669,279

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in rail anchors or anticreepers for railroad rails adapted 'to be applied to the bases of the rails and to engage stationary parts of the road bed to prevent longitudinal displacement or creeping of the rails thereon; and the invention relates particularly to anchors 0r anticreepers which comprise a resilient bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and having rail gripping parts or elements on the respective end portions thereof constructed to be placed in firm engagement with the rail base by springing the bar from a normal condition, and to cause the anchor to firmly grip the rail base by the spring action of the bar in tending to resume said normal condition.

An object of the invention is to provide an anchor of novel, inexpensive and efficient construction in which the resilient bar is provided with means on one end portion thereof which is operable to spring the bar torsionally from a normal condition when the anchor is applied to the rail; another object is to provide a novel means to prevent the accidental loosening of the anchor after it has been applied to'the rail; another object is to provide an anchor which may be applied to rail bases of different sizes, within certain limits, in a construction in which the rail engaging parts are held in gripping position by the resiliency of the bar; and a further object is to so construct and relate the parts of the anchor as to obtain various advantageous results as will hereinafter appear.

The inventionresides in the novel construction,

combination and arrangement of the parts or elements of the device as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, illustrating the invention,

Figure 1 is a side view of my improved rail anchor applied to a rail, showing a portion of the rail and a portion of a cross tie supporting the rail.

Figure 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, 4 designates a portion of a railroad rail, and 5 a portion of a cross tie supporting the rail and forming a stationary part of the road bed.

My improved anchor is applied to the base 6 of the rail 4, and it comprises a bar 7, a rail gripping arm 8 on one end portion thereof and a rail gripping element or nut 9 on the other end thereof.

The bar '7 is formed of suitable resilient metal, and it extends transversely beneath the rail base 6, and it is provided with a downwardly extending bend to space the central portion thereof from the rail base and provide the upwardly diverging end portions 10 and 11 for engagement with the bottom of the rail base at the respective side edges thereof.

The rail gripping arm 8 is formed integral with the bar 7 and it is connected to the end portion 10 thereof by a bend 12 in the metal forming the arm and the bar. The arm 8 and end portion 10 of the bar 7 diverge from the bend 12 connecting them and they form a hook or jaws for the reception of one side of the rail base 6 between them. The arm 8 extends over the adjacent side of the I rail base 6 and laterally from the plane of the divergent end portions of the bar 7, and the bottom of the arm 8 is adapted to engage the top of the rail base on one side of said plane or on one side of a line 13-43 which extends transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rail 4, as shown in Fi 3., r

The upper part of the end portion 11 ofthe bar is screw threaded and it extends above the adjacent side of the rail base 6 and outwardly at an angle to the plane of the base. The element or nut 9 is screwed onto the threaded end portion of the bar above the adjacent side of the rail base, and the nut is provided with an annular base flange 14 the lower edge of which is adapted to engage and bear down upon the edge ofthe top of the side of the base 6 at the side of the line 13 opposite to the side thereof on which the arm 8 is engaged with the other side of the base.

The space between the end portion 10 of the bar 7 and the arm 8 receives one side of the rail base 6 with the end portions 10 and 11 of bar in contact with the bottom of the respective sides of the rail base, and the arm 8 in contact with the top of one side of the rail base, and the extent to which the side of the base may enter thisspace is governed by the thickness of the base. There fore, it will be understoodthat the anchor may be applied to rails of different sizes, within certain limits.

The relationship of the parts of the anchor to one another is such that when the bar '7 is extended transversely beneath the rail, and the arm 8 and end portions 10 and 11 are engaged with the bottom of the rail base, and the nut 9 is screwed down into contact with the top of the adjacent side of the rail base, the plane of the divergent end portions 10 and 11 will extend at an incline or angle to a plane which extends normal to the longitudinal axis of the rail 4, as shown in Fig. 1, and this inclination of the parts of the bar '7 will vary somewhat with variations in the sizes of the rails to which the anchor is applied.

After the anchor is applied to the rail base 6 with the parts of the anchor substantially in the positions shown in the drawing, the nut 9 is tightened or screwed down upon the end portion 11 of the bar '7. As the nut 9 is thus screwed down, it bears upon one side of the rail base 6, at the point 14, on one side of the line 13-13, and causes the arm 8 to bear upon the other side of the rail base, at the point 15, on the other side of the line 13, and causes the end portions 10 and 11 of the bar 7 to press upwardly against the respective sides of the bottom of the base 6, and thereby springs the bar 7 torsionally from its normal condition into a twisted condition wherein its reverse torsional action holds the anchor in firm gripping engagement with the rail base, as the bar tends to resume its said normal condition.

When the nut 9 is screwed down upon the end portion 11 of the bar '7 it not only springs the bar 7 torsionally from its normal condition, as just described, but it also springs the end portions 10 and 11 of the bar apart due to the angle of the end portion 11 as related to the rail base 6, so that, thereafter, the tendency of the end portions 10 and 11 to move toward each other will increase the gripping action of the parts of the anchor upon the rail base.

The lower surface of the flange 16 on the nut 9 is provided with a circular series of corrugations 17 which are constructed to ride over the top edge of the adjacent side of the rail base 6 when the nut is screwed down, in applying the anchor to the rail, and, thereafter, prevent the accidental unscrewing of the nut and the consequent loosening of the anchor.

When the anchor is applied to a rail, it is applied thereto adjacent to a cross tie 5 with the parts of the bar '7 inclined downwardly and forwardly toward the tie and in the direction in which it is desired to prevent the rail from creeping, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. Should any pressure applied to the rail 4 cause it to tend to creep in the direction of the arrow, the creeping will be prevented by the engagement of the bar 7 with the cross tie 5, and such engagement will cause the arm 8 and the end portion 10 of the bar 7 to increase their gripping engagement with the rail base.

I claim as my invention:

1. A rail anchor comprising a resilient bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and to engage the bottom thereof, one end portion of the bar having a rail gripping arm extending therefrom and adapted to engage the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on one side of a straight line transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rail, and a rail gripping element on the other end portion of the bar and provided with means whereby it may be forced into engagement with the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on the other side of said line to spring the bar torsionally from a normal condition and cause the anchor to grip the base as the bar tends to resume said normal condition.

2. A rail anchor comprising a resilient bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and to engage the bottom thereof, one end portion of the bar having a rail gripping arm extending therefrom and adapted to engage the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on one side of astraightline transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rail, the other end portion of the bar being threaded and extending above the plane of the rail base, and a rail gripping nut screwed onto the threaded end portion and adapted to be forced into engagement with the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on the other side of said line to spring the bar torsionally from a normal condition and cause the anchor to grip the base as the bar tends to resume said normal condition.

3. A rail anchor comprising a resilient bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and having a downwardly extending bend therein to space the central portion of the bar from the bottom of the base and provide the bar with upwardly diverging end portions for engagement with the respective sides of the bottom of the base, one end portion of the bar having a rail gripping arm extending therefrom and adapted to engage the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on one side of a straight line transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rail, and a rail gripping element on the other end portion of the bar and provided with means whereby it may be forced into engagement with the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on the other side of said line to spring the bar torsionally from a normal condition and cause the anchor to grip the base as the bar tends to resume said normal condition.

4. A rail anchor comprising a resilient bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and having a downwardly extending bend therein to space the central portion of the bar from the bottom of the base and provide the bar with upwardly diverging end portions for engagement with the respective sides of the bottom of the base, one end portion of the bar having a rail gripping arm extending therefrom and adapted to engage the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on one side of a straight line transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rail, the other end portion of the bar being threaded and extending above the plane of the rail base, and a rail gripping nut screwed onto the threaded end portion and adapted to be forced into engagement with the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on the other side of said line to spring the bar torsionally from a normal condition and cause the anchor to grip the base as the bar tends to resume said normal condition.

5. A rail anchor comprising a resilient bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and having a downwardly extending bend therein to space the central portion of the bar from the bottom of the base and provide the bar with upwardly diverging end portions for engagement with the respective sides of the bottom of the base, one end portion of the bar having a rail gripping arm extending therefrom and adapted to engage the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on one side of a straight line transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rail, the other end portion of the bar being threaded and extending above and outwardly at an angle to the plane of the rail base, and a rail gripping nut screwed onto the threaded end portion of the bar and adapted to be forced into engagement with the upper edge of the adjacent side of the rail base on the other side of said line to force the end portions of the bar apart and also to spring the bar torsionally from a normal condition and cause the anchor to grip the base as the bar tends to resume said normal condition.

6. A rail anchor comprising a resilient bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and to engage the bottom thereof, one end portion of the bar having a rail gripping arm extending therefrom and adapted to engage the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on one side of a straight line transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rail, the other end portion of the bar being threaded and extending above the plane of the rail base, and a rail gripping nut screwed onto the threaded end portion and. adapted to be forced into engagement with the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on the other side of said line to spring the bar torsionally from a normal condition and cause the anchor to grip the base as the bar tends to resume said normal condition, the bottom of said nut having corrugations adapted to engage the adjacent side of the rail base and prevent accidental unscrewing of the nut.

7. A rail anchor comprising a resilient bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and having a downwardly extending bend therein to space the central portion of the bar from the bottom of the base and provide the bar with upwardly diverging end portions for engagement with the respective sides of the bottom of the base, one end portion of the bar having a rail gripping arm extending therefrom and adapted to engage the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on one side of a straight line transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rail, the other end portion of the bar being threaded and extending above the plane of the rail base, and a rail gripping nut screwed onto the threaded end portion and adapted to be forced into engagement with the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on the other side of said line to spring the bar torsionally from a normal condition and cause the anchor to grip the base as the bar tends to resume said normal condition, the bottom of said nut having corrugations adapted to engage the adjacent side of the rail base and prevent accidental unscrewing of the nut.

8. A rail anchor comprising a resilient bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and having a downwardly extending bend therein to space the central portion of the bar from the bottom of the base and provide the bar with upwardly diverging end portions for engagement with the respective sides of the bottom of the base, one end portion of the bar having a rail gripping arm extending therefrom and adapted to engage the top of the adjacent side of the rail base on one side of a straight line transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rail, the other end portion of the bar being threaded and extending above and outwardly at an angle to the plane of the rail base, and a rail gripping nut screwed onto the threaded end portion of the bar and adapted to be forced into engagement with the upper edge of the adjacent side of the rail base on the other side of said line to force the end portions of the bar apart and also to spring the bar torsionally from a normal condition and cause the anchor to grip the base as the bar tends to resume said normal condition, the bottom of said nut having corrugations adapted to engage the adjacent side of the rail base and prevent accidental unscrewing of the nut.

DAVID L. VAUGHAN. 

